Chris Stowers

A technician controls a batch during fermentation at the TTL Nantou Distillery, in central Taiwan. Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp. (TTL), formerly the islands' monopoly producer of alcohol and cigarettes, is branching out into whisky production as popular consumption tastes veer from cognac toward whisky. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, tiny Taiwan ranks 4th, globally, (behind only the US, France and Singapore - which acts mainly as a distribution hub for SE Asia) in terms of Scotch Whisky imports, by value, and is the fastest growing market, globally (up 39 percent in first half 2014 compared to the same period in 2013). The key driver behind this surge is a growing appetite in Taiwan for expensive and aged single malts.